USA > New York > Schoharie County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 38
USA > New York > Schenectady County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 38
USA > New York > Greene County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 38
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Philip Clapper, above named, was educated in the public schools, and subsequently taught school for a number of terms. He has contin- ued to be a student throughout his life, and has been much looked to by his neighbors and acquaintances for information on doubtful points under discussion. In politics he is a Democrat. His first farm consisted of one hundred acres, all tillable land. Later he he- came the owner of the homestead property, where he has resided since 1863, in his active years devoting his energies to general farming, giving special attention to dairying. His
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wife, whose maiden name was Betsy Robinson, is the daughter of John D. Robinson, whose ancestors were of Scotch-English descent, emi- grants from Connecticut. Mr. and Mrs. Philip Clapper have one son, Franklin, whose personal history is given below, and a daugh- ter Emmaline, who was married in December, 1894, to Edgar Hulbert, of North Blenheim.
Franklin Clapper was educated in the pub- lic schools and in a select school, receiving more than ordinarily good advantages. Then for some time he taught school during the win- ter terms in the towns of Gilboa, Blenheim, Breakabeen, and Fulton, and engaged in farm- ing during the summers. As a teacher he met with great success, and in Breakabeen he had a school of seventy pupils. Deciding to go into mercantile business, he bought out his present stand in March, 1892, and since then has devoted himself exclusively to building up a trade. Although he had no previous ex- perience as a tradesman to guide him, he has prospered even beyond his expectations. He carries at the present time thrice the stock that he carried at the outset, having enlarged his line of drugs, groceries, dry goods, hard- ware, and farm tools. He sends goods over a radius of four or fiye miles.
Since 1893 Mr. Clapper has been the vil- lage Postmaster. His management having proved satisfactory to both parties, no candi- date has been put forth to oppose him. He is also serving on his third term as Notary Pub- lic. Mr. Clapper has often been delegate to both local and county conventions. Repeat- edly importuned to accept the nomination for
public office, he has declined, though he never loses an opportunity to work for the good of his party and of the community. He was in- strumental in the construction of a telephone line to Mackey's Corners, thereby giving to the citizens of that little hamlet direct and rapid communication with the county seat and other parts of the county. He is a Mason of Gilboa Lodge, No. 630, of which he has been Junior Deacon, and is warmly interested in the ancient craft. When he joined in 1887, he was the youngest man in the lodge.
Mr. Clapper was married on April 21, 1897, to Harriet E. Wykoff, who is the eldest of the five children of George M. Wykoff. Mrs. Clapper was a successful student in the One- onta Normal School, and previous to her mar- riage she taught school. Mr. Clapper has been a member of the Baptist choir for five or six years, and at the present time his wife is also a member. Both are popular in social circles, and have every outlook for a prosper- ous future.
ONVAS E. MARKHAM, of Fulton, teacher and farmer, well known in Schoharie County as Professor Markham, was born in this town, August 10, 1843, son of Alden, Jr., and Catherine (Cook) Markham. Through his father he traces his ancestry (by what line we have not been in- formed) to John Alden of the "Mayflower" company of Pilgrims who settled at Plymouth.
Professor Markham's paternal grandparents, Alden Markham, Sr., and Elizabeth Pease
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Markham, were born, bred, and married in the State of Connecticut. Soon after their mar- riage they migrated westward to Otsego County, New York, where, in the town of Worcester, the grandfather took up a tract of forest-covered land, from which he cleared the timber and improved a homestead. He became actively identified with the interests of the town, and, while establishing a home for him- self and family, also assisted in developing the resources of that section of the State. He was among the leading farmers of the community, and for many years served as Justice of the Peace. He lived there until well advanced in years, and then went to Massachusetts, where he died at the age of seventy-eight. His wife, who bore him seven children, also lived to a ripe old age. Both were Baptists in their re- ligious beliefs.
Alden Markham, Jr., was born and educated in Otsego County ; and, having been reared to agricultural pursuits, he followed farming for some years. He also taught during the winter terms in Otsego County for a while, and later on for a few terms in Richmondville, Scho- harie County. In 1838, or soon after, he ac- cepted a position in the public schools of Ful- ton; and, being pleased with this locality, he subsequently invested his money here in a farm, and resumed life as an agriculturist. A few years afterward he removed to Massachu- setts, where he spent his remaining days, pass- ing away at the age of forty-nine years. ITis wife, whose maiden name was Catherine D. Cook, was born in the western part of Fulton, being a daughter of Nathaniel Cook, an exten-
sive farmer, who spent his life of threescore and ten years in this town. Mrs. Markham died at the early age of thirty-nine years, hav ing borne her husband five children. Four of this family are now living, namely: Convas E. ; Asher; Luther O., who for a quarter of a century has been Superintendent of Schools at Haverstraw, New York. ; and Elizabeth, wife of E. W. Haverly. Both parents were persons of eminent piety, and active members of the Baptist church.
Convas E. Markham began teaching in the district schools when but sixteen years old. He afterward took a full course of study at the Schoharie Academy, and still further fitted himself for a teacher by attending the Albany Normal School, from which he was graduated in 1869. He has since taught in various towns, including Fulton, where he commenced his career, Gallupville, in whose schools he was employed twelve consecutive years, and Esperance. He also taught several years in Piermont and Haverstraw, Rockland County. Since his marriage he has resided on his farm of one hundred acres in Fulton, and, in addi- tion to his professional labors in this vicinity, has been prosperously engaged in general farm- ing and dairying. He is one of the oldest and best known teachers of the county.
Mr. Markham married Carrie Louden, of Fulton, a graduate of the Normal School, and for some years prior to her marriage a teacher in the public schools. She was born in Ful- ton, being a daughter of Stephen Louden, of whom a biographical sketch appears elsewhere in this volume.
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P PRANK H. FRANCE, a native of Sew-
ard, now residing in the village of Cobleskill, was born on March 31, 1859, son of Gilbert G. and Angeline (Ottman) France. He is a great-grandson of Sebastian Frantz, one of the pioneers of Schoharie County.
Sebastian Frantz came from Germany in 1752, shortly after his marriage with Anna Fritz. He was born in Würtemberg, in the year 1732, and his wife was born in the same place in the year following. They were Luth- erans, and, with three others of that persua- sion, left their native land in order to secure greater freedom of worship. The little party landed in New York in November, 1753. Sebastian was sent ahead to prospect for a place in which to settle, and he eventually chose a location in this county in what is now the town of Seward.
He was a man of deep piety and great relig- ious zeal, and his unflinching boldness in de- fence of his faith has borne fruit in the lives of his descendants. He brought with him from the Fatherland his German family Bible, the first Bible ever brought into the town of Seward, and this is now in the possession of the heirs of his grandson, the late Gilbert G. France. Seven tedious years were spent in clearing the land and making it capable of pro. ducing harvests, and at the end of that time the desire of the immigrant's heart was ful- filled in the erection, at what was called New Rhinebeck, of a Lutheran church. The struc- ture was a frame building, and was the second house of worship reared in the town. The society was presided over by the Rev. Peter
Nicholas Sommer, a travelling Lutheran preacher, who preached also to the Methodist congregation in the other church, which was located at Seward Centre.
The children of Sebastian Frantz numbered twelve, and were named as follows: Anna, Ernest Christopher, Eva, Elizabeth, Jacob, Margaretta, John, Catherine, Henry, Lena, Lawrence, and David. At the outbreak of the Revolution, the two elder sons, Christopher and Jacob, enlisted as soldiers, and were quartered with their company in the Schoharie Valley. On October 18, while Sebastian was away from home doing government service, his home was entered by an Indian chief who was in the employ of the British; two of the sons, John and Henry, were taken captive; and the barns and out-buildings were burned. Thus in a moment were destroyed the results of years of earnest toil.
Mrs. Anna Frantz, with her ten remaining children fled to Gravel Mountain, where she secreted herself for three days, not daring to make a fire for fear that her hiding place might be revealed. John, one of the captured sons, was scalped and murdered, but Henry fortu- nately escaped. On the same day, the young woman who was to have been the bride of Christopher in two weeks, was murdered. A pair of silver shoe buckles, her wedding gift from her lover, is still in the possession of her family. After the war Sebastian Frantz re- paired and re-established his home, and subse- quently remained there until his death in 1805. His wife survived him eleven years. Both were buried on the home farm, but in
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1891 the remains were disinterred by Gilbert G. France and were removed to the Zion Rural Cemetery at Seward Centre.
The descendants of this worthy pair now con- stitute a considerable portion of the popula- tion of Schoharie, and members of the fourth and fifth generations have become residents in other parts of the State. Henry Frantz, who escaped from the Indians, spent his early life on the homestead, and later bought a farm near by, where he lived until his death, at the age of eighty-eight. He was a most active Chris- tian, and both he and his good wife were mem- bers of the Methodist church. Her maiden name was Maria Horn. She was born in Al- bany, the daughter of Joseph Horn, a promi- nent clothier of that place. She had one sister, Margaret, who married David Frantz.
Of the fifteen children of Henry Frantz, fourteen grew to maturity, and thirteen were married and had children. There were eleven sons, and of these seven became class leaders in the Methodist church, and of the seven two became preachers. Gilbert G. France was the latest survivor of this large family. He had at one time a hundred cousins, but all, with one exception, are now deceased.
Gilbert G. France was born on the home- stead on December 25, 1816, the youngest child of his parents. He remained at home until the age of seventeen, attending school and assisting on the farm. Then he learned the trade of tanner and currier. Subsequently he went with his wife and children to Wiscon- sin, and in company with three others took up some government land, and founded and named
the town of Sharon. His title deed to this, signed by President Polk, is still in the pos- session of his family. After remaining there for seven years, he returned East and traded his land for a farm in Richmondville, where he lived for five years. In 1856 he came to his farm in Seward, and from that time devoted himself to general farming, hop-raising, and dairying. He had at one period a hundred and forty acres, but later he cultivated about sixty acres, having also some outlying lands. He built the farm buildings, as well as another house and a store in the town, and several dwelling-houses. During the last forty years of his life he was a leader in every advanced movement. He was one of the carly pro- moters of the railroad which runs to Cherry Valley, twenty-five miles from Cobleskill, be- ginning to agitate the subject in 1867 in con- pany with Judge Campbell and Judge Bates. Upon being appointed one of the commis- sioners, along with Abraham Sternberg and Leonard Wiland, he was able to make arrange- ments for bonding the town for twenty-five thousand dollars. He was Railroad Commis- sioner for fifteen years.
Gilbert G. France was married in 1840, his wife being the daughter of Christian Ottman, and a native of this region. She died at the age of sixty-two, having been the mother of seven children. Of these, six are living; namely, Augusta, Anna, Helen, Millard Fil- more, Ida, and Frank II. Augusta married Peter Haines, a farmer in the valley, and has one child, Vergil by name. Anna, who mar- ried Hannuil Strail, has two children - Grace
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and Gilbert. Helen married David Berger, who was killed by a stroke of lightning. She has two children - Ina and Arthur. Millard F., who always resided with his father, mar- ried Mary Brown, and has one child, Leland. Ida is the wife of David Emerick, a travelling salesman in Western New York, and is the mother of two children - Bertha and Grace.
Gilbert G. France was actively interested in politics prior to the Civil War, and served as Collector and as Overseer of the Poor. So far as possible he refused public offices. He was a charter member of the Grange, and was one of its lecturers. He was ardently in favor of prohibition, and was a delegate to the State convention at Syracuse for the Prohibition party. On the occasion of the centennial celebration of the anniversary of the town, he was the president of the day, and had full charge of affairs. For fifty-eight years he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and fifty-six years a church officer. Thirty- three years he was a class leader, and twenty years superintendent of the Sunday-school. The beautiful grove fitted up by him is largely used for Sunday-school gatherings. At the time of his death, which occurred on April 5, 1898, he was the oldest member of the charge, which includes Hyndsville, Seward Valley, and Seward Centre, and was probably the oldest church official in the State.
Frank H. France is by trade a carpenter and cabinet-maker. Since the death of his father he has purchased village property in Coble- skill, where he now resides. He has charge of his father's farm, and is doing a prosperous
business. He married Carrie M. Ireland, daughter of Daniel Ireland, of Albany, and she has borne him four children, as follows: Lulu A., Gilbert D., Daniel D., and Mel- ville D.
IDGAR JACKSON,* attorney and coun- sellor at law, North Blenheim, Schoharie County, N. Y., was born in the town of Gilboa, this county, August 28, 1853, a son of John I. Jackson. His grandfather, David Jackson, was an early settler of Gilboa, where he bought a large tract of land, and for many years was one of its most successful farmers and the Justice of the Peace. To him and his wife, Peggy, three children were born.
John I. Jackson, who was brought up on a farm, and received his education in the com- mon schools, followed agricultural pursuits in his early manhood, and after marriage pur- chased a farm not far from the site of the pres- ent post-office in Mackey. Taking up the study of law, he pursued it diligently, and, after his admission to the bar, in 1855, prac- tised his profession in Gilboa for nearly forty years, and achieved considerable fame as a lawyer of sound judgment and superior knowl- edge. He was a Republican in politics, prom- inent in town matters, and served as Super- visor. He married Mary A. Moore, a native of Gilboa. She was a daughter of Samuel Moore, who came of pioneer stock. She died at the age of sixty-four years, March 31, 1879, leaving six children, namely : Rhoda, de- ceased; William M., a farmer in Iowa; Lu-
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cinda, deceased; Oscar D., a farmer; Edgar, the special subject of this biography'; and Luther. Both parents were members of the Baptist church; and the father was for many years a member of Gilboa Lodge, F. & A. M. lle died on October 23, 1893, at the age of fourscore years.
Edgar Jackson acquired the rudiments of his education in the public schools of Gilboa, and afterward continued his studies at the Dela- ware Literary Institute. He subsequently en- gaged in mechanical pursuits for a while, and then turned his attention to the study of law, which he pursued to such good purpose that in 1886 he was admitted to practice in the differ- ent courts by Judson S. Lawdon and Augustus Bakes, Judges of the Supreme Court at Albany. The following two years he practised with his father in Gilboa, whence, in 1888, he came to North Blenheim, where he has built up a large and lucrative general practice, being employed in the Justice, Surrogate, County, and Su- preme Courts. In 1894 he built his present commodious office, which is centrally located. While living in Gilboa he served as Justice of the Peace some years and as Town Trustee. Since coming here he has been Commissioner of Highways. Politically, Mr. Jackson is a straightforward Republican; and, fraternally, he is a member of Gilboa Lodge, F. & A. M.
Mr. Jackson married in 1873. His wife's mother, whose maiden name was Sally E. James, is still living, and has two children : Mrs. Jackson; and Orville A., of Chenango County. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have one child, Hl. Warren. Mr. Jackson is a member
of the Baptist church, while Mrs. Jackson be- longs to the Methodist Episcopal church.
AMES K. ALVERSON,* who has been identified with the educational interests of Schoharie County, New York, as school teacher and School Commissioner for the past three decades, resides in Middleburg, where he built his present residence in 1883. He was born February 21, 1845, in Berne, Al- bany County, a son of Leonard Alverson. His grandfather, Isaac Alverson, formerly a black- smith in the city of Albany, was killed in one of the battles of the War of 1812, while in the prime of manhood.
Leonard Alverson was reared on a farm in Duanesburg, N. Y. He learned the black- smith's trade, which he subsequently followed in Berne, not far from Hunter's Land. In Berne he afterward settled on a farm, and also carried on a grocery store and conducted a hotel, being very popular as a landlord. In politics he was a sound Democrat. He served as Assessor of Berne and as Supervisor, and for a number of years he was a Deacon of the Christian church. He subsequently pur- chased a farm in Hunter's Land, on which he engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, at the age of sixty-five years. lle mar- ried Elizabeth Cutter, or, as she was familiarly known in her girlhood, Betsey Wilbur, who was born in Duanesburg, a daughter of Esquire Wilbur. Her father was a well-to-do farmer and an expert fox bunter. He reared four children, namely : Sarah, wife of Seth Owens;
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William B .; Elizabeth, Mrs. Alverson, de- ceased ; and Joseph W.
James K. Alverson attended the common schools of his district until he was fourteen years old, and then began earning his own liv- ing by working out by the month, being thus employed until the breaking out of the Civil War. At the age of eighteen he enlisted in Company M, Seventh New York Artil- lery, with which he served eighteen months. He participated in the battles of Spottsyl- vania, Anna River, and Cold Harbor, where he was twice wounded by minie-balls, once in the right forearm and once in the left thigh. He was taken to the hospital, from which he was discharged as a private at the end of eight months. Returning home, he commenced his career as a teacher, being employed in 1865 and 1866 in Berne. After- ward he was principal of schools in the village of Schoharie, in Middleburg, and Wright, and in other places in Schoharie and Albany Counties, for a continuous period of twenty years. In 1888 Mr. Alverson was elected School Commissioner of the First Dis- trict of Schoharie County for a term of three years, and in 1894 was again elected to the same responsible position, and served until 1897. As School Commissioner he had to examine the one hundred and twelve teachers employed in the ninety-eight schools under his immediate supervision, and personally visit each school in the eight towns composing his district. Since the expiration of his last term in this capacity, he has resumed his former occupation as a teacher, and is now one of the
oldest instructors in this part of the county and one of the most successful. He was formerly a member of the Schoharie County Teachers' Association, and while a Commissioner of the First District he built many new school- houses. He is a Democrat in politics, and was twice elected Collector of the town of Berne. Fraternally, he is a member of the Moses Tompkins Post, No. 149, G. A. R., in which he has served as Officer of the Day and been Commander, and belongs also to the Middle- burg Lodge, Le Bastelle, I. O. O. F., in which he has passed all the chairs, and is now Past Noble Grand. He and his family attend the Lutheran church.
In 1876 Mr. Alverson married Miss Rhoda Shoemaker, a daughter of Abraham and Phebe (Layman) Shoemaker. Her parents spent their later years of life in Middleburg, where her mother is still living at the age of seventy- five years. Mr. and Mrs. Alverson have three children; namely, Leonard A., W. Layman, and Otis Ray.
HARLES E. BARRUP,* Postmaster of Esperance, Schoharie County, N. Y., was born August 12, 1855, in Car- lisle, this county. His paternal grandfather was a veteran of the War of 1812, and was at- tached to the staff of General Jackson.
Charles E. Barrup received his education in the district schools, which he attended until reaching the age of sixteen years, when he found employment and became self-supporting. In 1884 he opened a harness shop in Espe-
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rance, and he has since conducted the business very successfully up to the present time. Mr. Barrup has taken a prominent part in town affairs. He has twice been elected Town Clerk, and he has been a member of the County Committee. Ile is an active Demo- cratic worker, and has done much to advance the cause of his party locally. He is a mem- ber of Schoharie Lodge, F. & A. M.
In 1879 Mr. Barrup was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Reed, daughter of Henry Reed, of Esperance. Mr. Barrup's mother is a descendant of the family of Shafers that figured largely in the carlier history of Scho- harie County. Iler grandfather and her great- grandfather were prominent in the construc- tion of the Lutheran church of Cobleskill, which some six years ago celebrated its cen- tennial.
AMES L. UTTER,* the leading farmer of Oak Hill, Durham, and owner, on a large scale, of Western real estate, was born at Oak Hill, on the spot where he now resides, on May 20, 1846, son of Isaac and Mary A. (Niles) Utter. The farm of which he is now the owner has been in his family for three generations, his great-grandfather, James Utter, a Revolutionary soldier, having settled here when the country around was a wilderness. He came here with his wife and son James from Saybrook, Conn., in the spring of 1783, and built a log cabin. Some years later, after he had cleared some land, he built a frame house, which stood until 1894, when it was burned.
The second James Utter was born in Say- brook, Conn., and came here with his mother on horseback. He was brought up on the farm, and in 1806 be built a house for himself where his grandson's house is now standing. He kept increasing his farm by buying adjoin- ing land, and became a very prosperous man. In January, 1837, when he was only fifty-six years old, he slipped on the ice and broke his hip, and on the 19th of the month died from the effects. His wife, to whom he was mar- ried on November 26, 1805, bore him six children, none of whom are now living. Her maiden name was Elizabeth Post. She was a Presbyterian, and her husband was a Baptist.
Isaac Utter, above named, son of James, second, and Elizabeth, was born on December 19, 1808, and died on his sixty-fourth birth- day. He always lived on the homestead, with the exception of four years which he spent elsewhere. lle was interested in real estate in the West, particularly in Wisconsin, where he owned considerable land and held farms on mortgages. Politically, he was a Republican.
He was a liberal contributor to the Meth- odist church, of which both he and his wife were members; and for many years he was one of its most honored trustees. He took a prom- inent part in public affairs in the town, and was one of its Supervisors from the time of its incorporation. His wife, who was one of a family of ten children, was a daughter of Sam- uel Niles, who moved to Oak Hill when she was a young girl, and spent the remainder of his life here. Mrs. Utter resides with her son James, who is her only child.
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